


cool beans!

by buoyantsaturn



Series: auctober2020 [1]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan, The Trials of Apollo - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bookstore, Alternate Universe - College/University, Cats, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-01
Updated: 2020-10-01
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:47:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,323
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26657632
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/buoyantsaturn/pseuds/buoyantsaturn
Summary: Nico needs a cat fix and stumbles across a certain bookstore near campus.
Relationships: Nico di Angelo/Will Solace
Series: auctober2020 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1939612
Comments: 17
Kudos: 144
Collections: Solangelo Auctober 2020





	cool beans!

**Author's Note:**

> hello!! happy auctober!!  
> i know its a low motivation year but all we can do is try to power through! hopefully i'll get plenty more fics out this month but only time will tell!  
> anyway, enjoy!!

Will spent most of his time bored in his mother’s bookstore. Sometimes, the quiet was relaxing, when he got to sit alone with his cat and enjoy the peace, but other times he wanted to go out into the world and explore. He’d made friends in undergrad, and Cecil and Lou Ellen still lived near enough that they could stop by on occasion, but Will wanted  _ more. _ He wanted to go back to school and meet more people and work toward becoming a doctor so that he could help people, but unfortunately he’d run out of money. It would be another year at least before he’d saved up enough to go to med school, and he could hardly stop himself from counting the days.

It wasn’t always boring, of course. Sometimes a customer would come in, or Sunshine would chase a fly around the store until she got tired of it. Will would admit, it was a sad day when helping a customer find a book was the highlight of his day, but at least it  _ had _ a highlight. 

He was reading some fantasy book he’d pulled off a random shelf when the day’s first customer entered the store. Will glanced up when he heard the bell chime over the door, and offered a smile and a greeting at the guy that walked through the door. Will guessed he was a college student based on his approximate age, the amount of pins and patches on his jacket and backpack, and the fact that he made a bee-line for the academic section.

Will started to relax back into his seat when he heard a quiet,  _ “Oh,” _ from across the store. He looked toward the academic section and found the customer crouching near Sunshine’s favorite patch of sunlight. As he watched, the customer reached down and stroked a hand down Sunshine’s back, then rubbed her belly as she stretched and rolled under his hand. 

“Hi, kitty,” the customer said quietly.

“Her name is Sunshine,” Will told him from his place behind the register, resting his elbows on the counter. “She must really like you. She’s never this friendly with strangers.”

“I’m...good with cats.”

Will grinned. “Clearly. I’m Will, by the way. Just give me a shout if you need anything.”

“Thanks.” The customer glanced up with the tiniest of smiles on his lips. Suddenly, Will thought his heart might explode. 

* * *

The store received a new shipment of books about once a month, and that tended to be Will’s favorite day to work, given that he had something to  _ do. _ He wound up being so focused on reorganizing shelves and emptying boxes that he hadn’t heard the door open. He had no idea that he wasn’t alone in the store until he nearly tripped over a customer.

“Sorry!” Will exclaimed, struggling to rebalance the box in his arms that threatened to tip onto the floor. “I didn’t know anybody else was here, can I help you with--” He glanced down and saw the same customer from the week before, sitting next to Sunshine with an open book in his lap. “Oh! It’s you! Um. You know, if you’re just here to read, I set up this little reading nook in the back corner. It’s a good spot to study, and there’s a window seat that Sunshine likes to sit in. Um. If you’re interested. And there’s less chance of me accidentally tripping over you back there,” he finished with a bit of an awkward laugh.

“Oh,” the customer said, and hopped to his feet. “Um. Thanks.” He stood nearly toe to toe with Will, gazing up at him with a soft smile as Will grinned back.

Will jumped when he realized he was staring. “Oh! It’s just right around the corner there.”

“Thanks,” the customer said again, and stepped away toward the reading nook. 

Will didn’t think he’d be able to wipe the stupid grin off his face.  _ God, _ he needed to learn that guy’s name. He started to forget what he was doing, and the box in his hands started to slip between his fingers.

“Oh, shit!”

* * *

Nico was showing up a few times a week. Oh, yeah, his name was  _ Nico, _ and he went to the community college down the street. Sometimes, he did homework, and sometimes he just sat and read, but every time Sunshine was curled up beside him. Will was starting to get jealous of Nico - it seemed like Sunshine was starting to like him better. Or maybe he was jealous of Sunshine.

Will was pretending to read a book behind the counter and hoping that Nico couldn’t see him staring at him over the top of his book, when the bell chimed over the door. Will jumped like he’d been caught doing something he shouldn’t, and turned toward the door where a tall blond man was walking toward him.

The man stepped right up to the counter and said, “Hey, uh, I’m looking for Nico. he’s been hanging out here, right?”

Will’s first thought was,  _ oh no, he has a boyfriend. _ His second thought was, “I can’t really give out information like that.”

The man nodded in understanding. “Right, uh. Look, my name’s Jason, and Nico’s my roommate. He...lost his cat recently, and I know he’s been hanging out here. Could you just...keep an eye on him for me? And let him know I was looking for him.”

“Oh. Uh, yeah, sure,” Will said. “Thanks for the heads up.”

Jason offered him one final nod before turning toward the door once more. After taking only a step or two away, though, Jason spun back around and said, “Okay, he’d kill me for saying this, but… Will, right?” Will nodded, glancing down to see if he was wearing a nametag - no, he didn’t own a nametag, which meant - Nico had  _ talked about him. _ “Will, if you like him, ask him out. Trust me on that one.”

Will’s eyes widened. “Gotcha.”

“Cool.” Jason knocked twice on the counter awkwardly before he stepped back once again. “Uh, see you.”

Jason left the store, and Will dropped back into his seat, stunned. He glanced around the corner to see Nico with his nose still buried in his textbook, headphones firmly placed over his ears. 

Will grinned. Nico  _ liked him! _

* * *

It was another week before Will got up the courage to ask Nico out. It must’ve been nearing finals season, because Nico had been studying non-stop, and a few nights in a row he’d stayed right up until closing. 

It was one of those nights again, where Will had already shut down the register and flipped the  _ open _ sign to  _ closed,  _ and was making his way over to Nico before he locked the door. Will tapped Nico on the shoulder twice before Nico pulled off his headphones.

Will smiled at him. “Hey, uh, it’s time for me and Sunshine to head home.”

Nico’s eyes widened in surprise. “Oh, shit, are you closing already?” He shut his laptop and scrambled to throw papers and folders into his backpack. “I’m sorry this keeps happenings, I’ve just been  _ so _ stressed with finals--”

“Hey, it’s okay,” Will told him. He glanced away and scratched at the back of his neck. “Um, you know, if you want, you could… I mean, I was gonna order a pizza, maybe, and just… relax, and if you wanted to, you know, relax…”

“Are you asking me out?” Nico asked, and Will felt himself stiffen from nerves.

“Y-yes?” Will said, voice pitched a few octaves higher than it had been before. He cleared his throat and continued, “But if you’re not interested, that’s cool, too! I mean, I think Sunshine actually likes you more than she likes me at this point, so I’m sure she’d enjoy the company, but--”

“Will,” Nico cut in, rising from his seat with Sunshine in his arms, “I’d love to go on a date with you.”

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading!!  
> stick around for more auctober stuff!


End file.
